Think back to the year 2003 when Pakistani drama viewers were enamored by “Mehndi,” a Pakistani drama following the lives of four sisters, their parents and how these lives changed post marriage. With a star-studded cast and each sister going through her own struggle, “Mehndi” made for great viewing. Cut to 2022, viewers are given what seems to be Mehndi 2.0 in the form of “Angna.” Starring Azfar Rehman, Areeba Habibi, Ali Abbas, Rabab Hashim, Javed Sheikh, Atiqa Odho, Sajjad Pal, Laiba Khan, Asim Mehmood, Kanwal Khan, Danial Afzal, Gul E Rana, Rubina Ashraf and others, the story has been written by Sameena Aijaz and directed by Saqib Zafar Khan and Tehseen Khan. The summary of the show states that it’s a family drama which follows the (dysfunctional) married lives of Azfar Baig’s four daughters.
The first 7 episodes have delivered on happiness, drama, terror, greed – name the emotion and this show has it. Azfar Baig (Javed Sheikh) and his wife (Atiqa Odho) are loving parents to four daughters and have raised them in a protected, sheltered environment. Abeeha (Areeba Habib) and Taimoor (Azfar Rehman) are cousins and childhood sweethearts, the two with the most successful, happy married life – but their happiness is temporarily shattered when Abeeha suffers a miscarriage. Azfar Rehman and Areeba Habib are sweet in their roles and seem every bit the happy couple they are portraying. Eeshal (Rabab Hashim) is married to Zain (Ali Abbas), a man who brings his mother (Rubina Ashraf) along as a package deal in his marriage, his almost psychopathic mother controlling not only her son’s life, but now also Eeshal’s. This is the most interesting story of the four and these actors have the most scope to truly perform. Ali Abbas is convincing as a mama’s boy, a young man who cannot dare speak against his mother and mentally troubled due to the upbringing he has had. Rubina Ashraf is terrifying as a dominant, controlling, unempathetic mother-in-law (and mother), while Rabab Hashim is good casting as Eeshal, a girl who has been raised with a lot of love suddenly finding herself in a hostile, toxic environment. This is the story to watch out for.
Meanwhile, Nayyab (Laiba Khan) is being heavily pursued by Raza (Sajjad Pal) with grand proclamations of being in love with her and the two get engaged. Unfortunately, Raza and his family are entirely motivated by money and it’s clear that this family will attempt to leech on to Azfar Baig’s finances, putting Raza and Nayyab’s relationship in jeopardy. Of course, Raza himself does not appear to be a good guy either. With the exception of Taimoor, not one of Azfar’s son-in-laws appear to be “good” with Amaar (Asim Mehmood) as the fourth. There’s something horribly wrong with Amaar, something he isn’t telling his parents, and he is seen visiting a doctor. What is wrong and why does Amaar get upset at the mention of his marriage? Now engaged to Azfar’s fourth daughter, Aiza (Kanwal Khan), there appears to be more heartbreak in store for this family.
While the promos of “Angna” were not impressive, the show itself is revealing itself to be an entertaining watch. This isn’t exactly a “light” story, but it’s nicely balanced between the sisters and their stories to offer some relief. Some shows can wind up being a pleasant surprise and “Angna” is one of those shows at this point. If a breezy watch with some meaningful stories interspersed is something of interest, “Angna” may just prove to be a winner.